Quiz 1-6

Question 1

Who built Stonehenge

Answer 1

unknown

Question 2

Put the following languages, which were all spoken on the British Isles, into the correct chronological order.

Answer 2

Language of the Beaker People, Celtic, Latin, Anglo Saxon

Question 3

When did the Anglo-Saxons arrive in Britain?

Answer 3

449 AD

Question 4

Where did the Anglo Saxons come from?

Answer 4

northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein)

Question 5

Why is Indo-European called ‘Indo-European’ (or ‘Indogermanisch’)?

Answer 5

Because the first theories of linguistic relationship of indo-european language family were about most of the modern European languages and some Iranian and Indian languages to have a common ancestor

Question 6

Give at least three typical and important characteristics that distinguish the Germanic languages from other Indo-European languages (such as Latin or Greek).

Answer 6

1. Grimms law (sounds shifted in Germanic languages bt not in other ones)
2. Germanic languages replaced free accentual system (IE) by a system in which root-initial syllables are stressed
3. Germanic languages tense and aspect forms are lost other than present and preterite, the new tense distinctions are made through composite forms
4. Proto-Germanic and Germanic languages have many words that don’t have cognates in other IE languages

Question 7

Explain the (original) connection and the later differences between Latin pecu and German Vieh (OHG fihu), English fee (OE fehu)

Answer 7

-> Grimms law shift of voiceless plosive to voiceless fricative (p – f; k ->h)
-> less of inflectional ending (fehu -> fee)
-> lengthening of root vowel in words w less than three syllable and no consonant cluster: e -> ee

Question 8

What are the possible long-term consequences of the change from the ‘free’ or ‘dynamic’ accentual system of IE to the root-initial accent in the Germanic languages?

Answer 8

unstressed syllables are weakened, loss of inflectional endings in middle English, fixed word order, other markings necessary to clarify the function or words in a sentence

Question 9

What are cognates? Give the cognates to the following words in a language that has a cognate: sword, brother, ship, people

Answer 9

-> word that is etymologically related to a word from another language and has phonetic similarities to that word (Knecht & Knight) Schwert, Bruder, Schiff, Personen

Question 10

What is Gothic and why is it of relevance for the study of the history of English?

Answer 10

Gothic is the oldest East-Germanic language that died out In the 17th century.

Question 11

Name and briefly describe the different writing systems on the British Isles (300 BC -1000 AD)

Answer 11

Celtic Ogham: inscriptions on wood or monuments on stone
Germanic Runes: inscriptions on runestones that commemorate battles or important events
Anglo-Saxon Runes (futhorc) -> vertical & diagonal strokes

Question 12

When and from where did the re-Christianisation of England take place?

Answer 12

A.D 597 from missionaries in Rome

Question 13

What are the most important political, cultural and linguistic consequences of the re-Christianisation?

Answer 13

political: England becomes port of European superpower
cultural: venerating only one god, European culture
linguistic: Latin replaces runes

Question 14

What do you need to produce a book in the Middle Ages?

Answer 14

Parchment (made of animal skin) brimstone (to rough it) goose feather (to write)

Question 15

Which format is bigger?

Answer 15

folio is the biggest

Question 16

Name at least 2 of the surviving manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon poetry

Answer 16

Junius Manuscripts, Vercelli books, Exeter Book

Question 17

What does Beowulf mean?

Answer 17

OE beo: bee wulf: wolf =beewolf-> bear

Question 18

Why is the hero called Beaowulf?

Answer 18

originates from a folk tale where a princess is kidnapped by a bear and gives birth to either a human-bear or a human with bear strength

Question 19

What is an alliteration? Give an example of the standard Old English alliterative line

Answer 19

alliteration: occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
“Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum”

Question 20

What is the basic structure of the epic poem Beowulf?

Answer 20

two halves, first: young Beowulf fighting against Grendel and Grendels mother; linking passage: repetition of the most important events, Old beowulf

Question 21

Why is the poem Beowulf so important for the old English literature?

Answer 21

the oldest and one of the only surviving Germanic poems, gives insight into pre-Christian thinking

Question 22

What is a kenning?

Answer 22

poetic compound nouns used for metaphoric and pictorial language, sceadu-genga= Schattengänger

Question 23

What is the Danelaw?

Answer 23

after Danish invasion, England was split into Danelaw and Wessex -> Danelaw ruled by the Danes and separated with a border

Question 24

Which are of Scandinavian origin?

Answer 24

Rugby, Derby, Eastthorpe, Langtoft, Grimsby

Question 25

Which are of Anglo-Saxon origin?
Rugby, Derby, Eastthorpe, Langtoft, Grimsby, Ealing, Brigmingham, Maldon, Bree, Torcross, Duncombe

Answer 25

Ealin, Birmingham, Maldon

Question 26

Which are of celtic origin?
Rugby, Derby, Eastthorpe, Langtoft, Grimsby, Ealing, Brigmingham, Maldon, Bree, Torcross, Duncombe

Answer 26

Bree, Torcross, Duncombe

Question 27

Comment on Grimsby vs. Grimston

Answer 27

ton -> Anglo-Saxon place element Grimston hybrid place name from the Scandi name Grimsby

Question 28

Comment on Brownson vs. Browning

Answer 28

Norse family names indicate father’s name (-son) and the -ing is anglo saxon

Question 29

Why did the English language adopt Scandinavian pronouns they,them, their?

Answer 29

in OE, third and first-person pronouns were the same -> difficult adapted for better understanding

Question 30

Which is the Scandinavian loanword?

Answer 30

skirt, dike, scatter

Question 31

How many words were taken from Old Norse?

Answer 31

around 1000, everyday words

Question 32

What possible influence did the presence of Old Norse have on the development of English syntax?

Answer 32

simplification on inflactional system -> fixed syntax (SVO)

Question 33

Why is Alfred the Great important for the history of the English language?

Answer 33

divided England into 2 parts by winning against the Danes, monasteries were destructed -> made OE official language

Question 34

Name some of the books that were translated into the English language from the Celtic languages in the OE period

Answer 34

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Beda Benerabilis: St Augustine’s Soliloquies

Question 35

What kind of words came into the English language from the Celtic language in the OE period?

Answer 35

place names (Avon) , landscape features (bar-> hill)

Question 36

Why is the influence of the Celtic languages onto the development of (Old) English so small?

Answer 36

Anglo-Saxons defeated the Celts, they didn’t want to learn the language since they didnt perceive the Anglo-Saxons as superior

Question 37

Name and briefly characterize the periods of Latin influence up to AD 1100

Answer 37

0 Period: up to AD450; words of war and trade
1st Period: AD 450-600; Latin words via Celtic language
2nd Period: AD 600-1100; early influences through Christianization, later influences through education due to benedict reform

Question 38

Is there a way to determine the age of a loanword from Latin?

Answer 38

look up what topic the word belongs to -> certain topics in different times

Question 39

Discuss Latin puteus > proto-OE *puti > OE pytte > ME/PDE pit.

Answer 39

i - mutation
- back vowels a, o, u and low front vowel
- Latin puteus developed in proto-OE into puti→has the back vowel u & an i in following syllable
- in OE, u -> to y; i i-> e
- in Middle English, y -> i and the e disappears

Question 40

Explain Grimms Law.

Answer 40

Aspirated voiced stops to voiced stops, voiced stops to voiceless stops, voiceless stops to voiceless fricatives